Just Another Day at the Office
by Blue Wolf2
Summary: Sometimes there's more to a story than what people know.
1. McGee

There had been paperwork of course, when they brought her back. Everyone had to fill out their own, stating what happened from their point of view. DiNozzo and McGee's were straight forward, telling how the operation had gone down.

Then there were the psych evals. The administrator told them they were expected to share everything pertinent to the operation. No detail was to be left out. They both said they understood.

What they didn't share in the report and eval was the conversation between Ziva and Tony…

_McGee was lying on the floor, pretending to be asleep. When Salem returned he heard the door bang against the wall and could tell he was dragging something or someone in with him. He heard the scrape of the chair as the person was forced to sit down._

_He listened as Saleem informed them that people in town were asking questions, that they knew there were missing NCIS agents somewhere in the region. When Saleem told Tony and the other person that they were to choose who lived and who died, he wondered who this second person could be._

_He knew, the moment that Tony asked "So, how was your summer?" that it was Ziva. His heart thumped in his chest, adrenaline running through his body. He couldn't believe that they had actually found her. That she was alive._

_He listened as Ziva asked Tony what he was doing there._

_The words "Couldn't live without you, I guess." filled the cell and McGee felt a surge of sadness shoot through him. Part of him wished he could see Ziva's face. See her reaction to Tony being brutally honest for once._

"_So you will die with me…you should have left me alone." That sentence broke McGee's heart. He could tell by her voice that she had given up long ago. She probably had given up hope that she was going to be rescued. They were here now, but they had taken too long getting there. They had left her down._

_Everything else was a blur; him kicking Saleem's feet, the gun being pointed at his head. He raised his hands up, surrendering as Tony yelled at them to stop. Then he started to ramble about how he was the wildcard of the group. He of course made some movie reference, he was Tony after all._

_Then came the final words. "Remember when I told you my boss was a sniper?" He heard the bullet as soon as it passed through the glass and into Saleem's body. He quickly jumped up and cut Tony loose. He tried not to notice how light Ziva was. How she could barely stand on her feet. _

_Soon they were in the hallway, Ziva in between the two of them. Once the final gunman fell they were greeted with a figure draped in camo._

_Gibbs._

"_Let's go home." Those had been and would be, his favorite words that day._


	2. Abby

_Abby hated it when they went on missions. She was a ball of nerves not having contact with any of them. She had barely slept while they were gone. Her lap was littered with Calf Pow containers. She had finished her work yesterday and was currently alternating between trying to find something to do in her lap and going to autopsy. She was starting to zone out, so she didn't hear her cell phone go off._

"_Abby!" her head jerked up to see Ducky and Palmer standing in the doorway. _

"_What?"_

"_Your phone!" Ducky motioned to her cell. _

_She quickly grabbed it and flipped it open. "Hello?"_

"_Abbs,"_

"_McGee! Are you ok? Are Tony and Gibbs ok?"_

"_We're fine Abbs, all four of us."_

"_Did you, wait…all **four** of you?" She looked at Palmer and Ducky, her eyes wide. "Ziva?" her voice came out in a whisper._

"_We found her Abbs. We found her."_

"_She's alive?" She clasped a hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from sobbing._

"_Well, she can barely stand. She's dehydrated, malnourished and beat up. But,"_

"_She's alive." Abby whispered._

"_Yeah. We're about to board the plane. We should be home sometime today."_

"_I'll be here."_

"_Bye Abbs."_

"_Bye Tim."_

_Abby looked up to see Ducky and Palmer standing in front of her. None of them spoke as they wrapped their arms around one another._

_She was the first one to touch Ziva when the team entered the bullpen. She reached for her face, hesitating, as if she wasn't sure Ziva was real. Then she pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around her as carefully as she could._


	3. Tony

Tony stared at his hands as the psych eval administrator shuffled her papers. His knee began to bounce as she looked at him.

"Are you ready to continue Agent DiNozzo?" He simply nodded his head, but on the inside he was screaming no. He didn't want to relive this experience anymore. "What state was Officer David in on the plane?"

Tony's eyes flicked up to look at the administrator. "I'm sorry?"

"In the reports Agent McGee and Agent Gibbs said you were the one who sat with her. How would you describe her mental and physical state?" Tony closed his eyes and took a breath.

_After they left the camp they had been taken to the airport, where they waited an hour for a cargo plane. Ziva hadn't said a single word since they found her. She also hadn't let Tony get more than a few feet away from her without having a panic attack._

_The first one had happened when he left for the bathroom. He had given McGee a look, silently telling him to watch her. When he returned, less than five minutes later, he found Gibbs holding Ziva's hand as she crouched on the floor._

"_Just breathe Ziver. In and out, slowly." Ziva nodded and after a few moments she slowly stood and returned to her chair._

_DiNozzo looked at Gibbs, confusion in his eyes. "What the hell happened?"_

"_Panic attack. It happened right after you left." Tony looked at Ziva, who now had her eyes closed. "We need to be careful about you leaving."_

"_But…" Tony shook his head. "Why me?" It didn't make sense. The last time they had seen one another, Tony had ended up on the ground with a gun to his chest._

_Gibbs shrugged. "Her mind probably thought you were leaving her behind. Things like this don't make sense Tony. Just stay with her." Tony nodded as Gibbs headed to find the pilot of the plane._

_Once they boarded the plane Tony had helped strap Ziva into her seat. He tried not to notice her flinching as he tightened the belt across her chest. "Try not to think about it Zi." he whispered and she silently nodded. He sat down next to her and strapped himself in._

_Soon the pilot came out of the cockpit. "We ready Agent Gibbs?" Gibbs nodded and the pilot shouted "Wheels up!" as he made his way to the front._

_By the time the plane propellers started Ziva had closed her eyes. Tony grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze as the plane began moving. By the time they were in the air, there were bloody nail marks on his palm._


	4. Gibbs

_Rather than have her in temporary base housing, Gibbs took Ziva home with him. He was finishing cooking dinner when she entered the kitchen, hair still wet from her shower._

_"I think I used all your hot water." She said quietly, sitting down at the table._

_Gibbs glanced over his shoulder. "It'll be back by morning."_

_She nodded and watched as he drained the water from the pot of pasta. "Thank you for letting me stay with you."_

_"No thanks needed Ziver. This is what family does." The word family brought tears to her eyes. He crossed the kitchen, crouching next to her chair. "Hey, you ok?"_

_She shook her head, the tears falling freely down her cheeks. "He didn't come for me…" her words came out in a sob._

_"Your Father."_

_She nodded. "Why didn't he come for me?" Gibbs pulled her to him, the tears soaking through his shirt._

_"Your Father's a complicated man, Ziver. I don't know why he didn't come for you. But you're here now. You're safe. That's all that matters."_

_Once her tears were gone he placed two plates of pasta on the table. Ducky had told him that while she needed to eat, it should be something plain. Too much richness could upset her stomach. He was glad to see that while it was slow, she ate all the food in front of her._

_Before he headed to the basement he paused to watch her sleep. Hearing her ask why her Father hadn't been the one to rescue her had nearly broke his heart. He had always considered her, Abby, McGee and DiNozzo his kids. And tonight he was glad that they had been the ones to rescue her. Family didn't have to be DNA, and he would do anything for his kids._

_Then before heading for the stairs he locked the front door._


	5. Ziva

_She had held everything in for so long. Her emotions, what she was truly feeling. So when he kissed her head and whispered "You're home." in her ear, the damn finally broke. As he left the room tears began to fall down her face._

_She had been taught from a early age how to block things out. A soldier was expected to move on from a situation without thinking about it. But being in NCIS, being in a place that cared more about your mental health than your ability to fight, changed that. _

_She could finally let her emotions out. She could finally cry. She could finally breathe._

_She had a long way to go, she knew that. She still had nightmares. She still couldn't sleep in the dark. Loud noises caused her to tense up, as did being in crowded spaces or the thought of someone restraining her. But she knew that in time, she could overcome those things. In time her team, her family would help her get better._

_Gibbs would always be there with quiet reassurance. _

_McGee would drive her home._

_Abby would distract her by taking her out after work and on the weekends._

_Ducky would make her tea and let her talk out her fears._

_Tony would hold her hand and sleep on the couch in case she needed him._

_She would be ok. She would move on. She would recover. Her family would make sure of it._

__

**That's it! Hope everyone enjoyed!**


End file.
